Battle of Big Bethel

Battle of Big Bethel
Part of the American Civil War
Big Bethel Alfred R. Waud, artist, June 10, 1861.
Date June 10, 1861 (1861-06-10) Location Tabb and Hampton, Virginia Result Confederate victory
Belligerents
United States (Union)	CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
Benjamin F. Butler Ebenezer W. Peirce	John B. Magruder Daniel H. Hill
Strength
3,500	1,400
Casualties and losses
18 killed 53 wounded 5 missing	1 killed 7 wounded

The Battle of Big Bethel was one of the earliest, if not the first, land battle of the American Civil War. It took place on the Virginia Peninsula, near Newport News, on June 10, 1861.

Virginia's decision to secede from the Union had been ratified by popular vote on May 23, and Confederate colonel (later major general) John B. Magruder was sent down the peninsula to deter any advance on the state capital Richmond by Union troops based at the well-defended post of Fort Monroe. This garrison was commanded by Major General Benjamin Butler, a former Massachusetts lawyer and politician, who established a new camp at nearby Hampton and another at Newport News. Magruder had also established two camps within range of the Union lines, at Big Bethel and Little Bethel, to lure his opponent into a premature action.

Butler took the bait, when he and an aide, Major Theodore Winthrop, devised a plan for a night march, followed by a dawn attack to drive the Confederates back from their bases. Butler chose not to lead the force in person, for which he was later criticized. The plan proved too complex for his poorly-trained subordinates to carry out, especially at night, and his staff had also omitted to communicate the passwords. They were trying to advance without knowledge of the layout or strength of the Confederate positions when a friendly fire incident gave away their own. The commander in the field, Massachusetts militia general, Ebenezer Peirce, received most of the blame for the failed operation.

The Union forces suffered 76 casualties, with 18 killed, including Maj. Winthrop and Lt. John T. Greble, the first regular army officer killed in the war. The Confederates suffered only eight casualties, with one killed. Although Magruder subsequently withdrew to Yorktown and his defensive line along the Warwick River, he had won a propaganda victory, and local Union forces attempted no further significant advance until the Peninsula Campaign of 1862. While small compared to many later battles, Big Bethel attracted exaggerated importance because of the general feeling that the war would soon be over.

The engagement was also known as the Battle of Bethel Church or Great Bethel.